4-10 June Phnom Penh Post

“If you are talking about an attack on this specific village or that village, the reality is that the court is not able to address specific-fact situations like that,” Heindel said.

“Even in Case 002, the reality of the split indictment is that there are so many important crimes sites that are likely not to be addressed [by the court].

“Case 002 is extremely young at this point, and we don’t even know if a second split trial will happen.”

Heindel said the scope of the court’s mandate and resources were very real issues limiting the court’s ability to broaden its workload.

“The court already has too much on its plate,” she said.

Prosecutors identified “the importance of prioritising the efficient completion of ongoing investigations” as key in their considerations to reject expanding Case 003.

The UN-backed tribunal itself is in the midst of perhaps the worst funding crisis it has yet faced.

When contacted by the Post last week, UN Special Expert for the tribunal David Scheffer said there had been “some progress” in garnering financial assistance for the tribunal’s operations.

The international side faces the imminent prospect of having funds run dry.

Earlier this year, the Cambodian side went through its own dire financial stretch, with national staff going without salary for months.

“Several nations have stepped forward with new funding, but we remain about US$25 million short on the international budget of about $35 million for 2012,” Scheffer said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com <div>Please enable JavaScript to post a new comment</div>